...priority list. Educational institutions and our nation’s leaders have begun the rigorous task of examining the demographics and trends that influence enrollment and retention of students which ultimately determine the success of nation’s graduation rate. Fong (2012) reports that, “Of the three million students who begin U.S. degree programs each year, 1.6 million, or 53 percent never graduate,” (Fong, J. 2012). However, in more recent times, higher education has seen the emerging phenomenon of older working adults returning to college in pursuit of a postsecondary education. This current trend is worthy of examination by universities as an important segment of their student population; this may potentially be able to increase graduation rates of American college graduates. The increasing number of adult learners enrolling in college can solve the problem with the decline in college graduate rates if a better focus on the unique variables on adult learners is made. Pre-assessments of the adult learner upon enrollment and throughout the degree plan, tailored curriculum and increased accessibility to resources which include effective mentorship to guide students toward success will help increase the graduation rate. Within this essay, I will be using the terms “adult learner” and “non-traditional student” interchangeably. According to Flint (2000), “NCES...
Words: 2191 - Pages: 9
...is not a new concept in today’s society. Practically since the establishment of institutions of higher education, the class of student known as the non-traditional student has existed. There is no exacting definition of what a non-traditional student is, but most can agree that one is generally over the age of 24, have not enrolled in post-secondary education immediately after high school, have dependents other than a spouse or are a single parent, work full time while enrolled, or are financially independent from their parents (Kenner & Weinerman, 2011). Adult learners fall into the category of non-traditional student, and face many issues when it comes time to make the decision to return to college. Reasons for returning to, challenges to overcome while attending and type of school attended vary almost as widely as adult learners do themselves. There are an indeterminable number of reasons for an adult to decide to obtain a higher education, and they vary as much as does the diverse group of non-traditional students. As noted on the website back2college.com, some of the more significant reasons include updating personal skills and furthering career advancement, fulfillment of lifelong dreams or potential, achievement of a better life for themselves and their family, and the changing of careers (WD Communications LLC, 2011). For some students there are multiple reasons for obtaining a degree. At the beginning of this year a person named Paul lost a job that allowed him...
Words: 1349 - Pages: 6
...solutions to gaining higher education, they differ in social interaction, hands-on learning, and organized scheduling. Many online and traditional students still work as professionals with full-time jobs. They’re parents with the responsibility of taking care of a family, live in the country or isolated counties, or happen to be retirees attempting to further their education or aspiring students who simply cannot afford to make the transition to attend college classes on campus so the online setting is the closest form of traditional education virtually possible for them to pursue a higher form of education. To make this determination, it is important to first evaluate whether or not patience, means and ability to pursue a degree of choice from a traditional institution as opposed to an online setting is possible. The computer-generated classroom is a key contributor to the educational community, causing establishments to begin practicing the same online prototypical as a form of training technical specialists in both private and public universities. Online students must possess the qualities to remain focused and self-motivated without the typical person-to-person interaction with classmates or instructors. However, an online learner as well as traditional learners must possess unique characteristics needed to excel outside of a traditional setting and inside the classroom. Social interactions are considered more of a sense of...
Words: 1687 - Pages: 7
...Meeting the Needs of Non-Traditional Students Vickie Nylander N537 June 4, 2014 Dr. Bonnie Jean Beardsley Meeting the Needs of Non-Traditional Students The needs of the non-traditional student has become the focus of some institutions of higher learning. A shift in the profile of higher education students has taken place: At many institutions, the “traditional” 18- to 21-year-old student cohort is no longer the majority demographic. This study explores the impact on the academic success of nontraditional students attending a public research university in the United States. Institutional practices, policies and programs that enhance the success of the non-traditional students’ college career are identified. What is the scope of the critical issue? The non-traditional students make up at least 50% of higher education enrollments in colleges and universities. Coupled with these increasing enrollment rates, colleges and universities are now being confronted with the problem of the rising attrition rate among minorities, women, and under-prepared adults. The participation of these students on campus, therefore, has become the focus of a great deal of attention by non-traditional student academics. Non-traditional student is an American term referring to a category of students at tertiary educational institutions. The National Center for Education Statistics acknowledges there is no precise definition for non-traditional student, but suggests that part-time status and age...
Words: 2522 - Pages: 11
...Higher Education With Non-Traditional Students Raymond Barnes 4/24/13 INFT - 101 - D45 Module / Week 6 Summary Today as more and more adults are deciding to further their education the focus has turned to how they learn and why their returning to school in the classroom or online. With this in mind instructors today need to try to adapt to the non-traditional student, instead of the other way around. Helping instructors, theorists have been coming up with ways to measure and test how adult learns. There has been an increase of adults returning to college and universities due to the economic down turn. Adults bring with them an ingrained way of thinking. To help understand the way adults learn there are three theories: tacit, informal, and formal according to Schraw and Moshman (1995). The importance of using the adults’ life experience to increase the application of what’s taught is becoming more and more understood. Educators are learning that there are many ways to approach the non-traditional student. Adults take what they’re learning and try to reapply it to what they already know. This is called the cognitive process. (S.B. Merriam 2008) Taylor and Lamoreaux pointed out that learning is “tied to physical embodied experience.” Adults also have many worldviews and family values that can contribute to how they learn, which they may have a hard time letting go of. The use of “narrative learning as a way to theorize learning” (Clark and Rossiters), adults can use...
Words: 819 - Pages: 4
...Balancing Values, Responsibilities and School for a Non-Traditional Student Jwendoline Hernandez Foundation for General Education and Professional Success GEN/200 April 28, 2014 Jillian Folger Values and Responsibilities Everyone at a very young age has values and responsibilities instilled in them. They are life lessons, principles and rules we are expected to live by. Ranging from how to live, what is right from wrong, how to treat ourselves and one another. Notwithstanding, as each lives their own lives each develops their own values and duty, amending old and creating new ones. Taking ownership of the consequences from the choices, decisions and actions one makes is considered by many as having personal responsibility. Traditional versus Non-Traditional Students Nowadays, it is more common to see individuals well in their years returning to school after having their own families and having professional experience under their belt. For many weighing their professional ambitions and family duties. Forbus, Newbold, Mehta (2011) conducted a research that reflects on the differences between the traditional and the non-traditional students’ expectations for the college experience. Noting that the non-traditional differ in interest, social activities, and levels of motivations from their counterparts. For the most part any college student, be it the traditional high school graduate or the non-traditional, have set goals entering postsecondary education. The...
Words: 1415 - Pages: 6
...funding………………………………………………………….…...……………………….…….11 Gainful employment.……………………………………………………………………………….…………………………….13 Solutions……………….…………………………………………………………………………..……….………………………….14 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………….……….…………………………15 References…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….16 Introduction The most important investment that someone will make in life is education. It sets the foundation for one’s professional life and career. Education needs to be accessible to everyone who chooses to pursue it. This means that education should be accessible both in a classroom, online, digital, for both non-traditional and traditional students. Having the opportunity to earn a degree is both fundamental to a student’s success in life and increases their chances of being a well-rounded individual with goals and expectations for a profession. Abstract The mushrooming of student financial aid in all its forms has transformed the economics of American Higher Education. For private colleges and universities, the privatizations era has brought...
Words: 4420 - Pages: 18
...Asia Source: "Higher Education in 2035: The ongoing massification", by Angel Calderon, RMIT University North America and Western Europe Central and Eastern Europe East Asia and the Pacific Central Asia Latin America and the Caribbean Arab States Tertiary enrolment: Past and future Global enrolment in tertiary education has increased dramatically in the last few decades. In 2000, there were 99.4m students enrolled in higher education institutions. In 2030, research expects this number to rise to 414.2m. South Asia's proportion of global enrolment has been rapid: the region constituted only 12.15% of global enrolment in 2000, but this is expected to grow to over 20% in 2030. Growing economies and youthful population are driving continued growth in the region's appetite for higher education. Current demand outstripping supply South Asia's universities are already feeling the crunch, with insufficient university places. Private universities have been growing trend, but the large influx of such institutions raise concerns over quality assurance mechanisms. Number of "A" level student per available university space 23 Afghanistan 3.58 4.79 1.49 2.39 1.13 4.89 Source:...
Words: 5123 - Pages: 21
...ONLINE EDUCATION FOR NON-TRADITIONAL STUDENTS Student Name English Composition II July 31, 2014 Unlike the typical college freshman attending the university of their dreams immediately after high school, the college experience for the non-traditional student is quite different. Most non-traditional students are not attending college immediately after high school, they are returning students who have not finished their college education, or they may be full-time working adults or parents who are trying to obtain their education around their already busy schedules. Students of this type need to have alternate paths to choose from which will allow them to meet their other obligations and needs first. These types of students need to be able to balance their personal lives while also being able to successfully reach their ultimate goal, obtaining a college degree. These types of students will likely take a different approach than attending a brick and mortar school. While some students require the more traditional university experience, research shows that an online education is often better suited for the non-traditional student because it is more flexible and convenient, affordable, and can offer a high quality education. An online education is a more flexible and convenient learning format to choose from when compared to the traditional university experience. This benefits non-traditional students because many of them are working adults who need the convenience and...
Words: 2824 - Pages: 12
... Statement of the Problem………………………………………………….6 Research Questions………………………………………………………..7 Significance of the Problem……………………………………………….7 II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE………………………………..…..9 Demographics…………………………………………………………….10 Best Practices……………………………………………………………..16 Student Characteristics…………………………………………………...24 III. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS…………………….…….32 Summary …...…………………………………………………………….32 Findings .………..……………………………………………………….. 33 Recommendations………………………………………………………...38 REFERENCES………………………………………………………….. 41 VITA………………………………..……………………………………52 AN ABSTRACT OF THE R ESEARCH PAPER OF Lora Hines, for the Master of Science degree in Workforce Education and Development, presented on December 1, 2011, at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. TITLE: WHAT INFLUENCES ONLINE CLASSES HIGH ATTRITION RATE MAJOR PROFESSOR: Glen Blackstone Online education programs have grown tremendously in the past 10 years. From 1991 to 2006, online enrollments have grown from virtually 0 to over 2.35 million students. Over 3.5 million students, or roughly one in every six, were enrolled in at least one online course during the fall of 2006. By 2015, 25 million...
Words: 12295 - Pages: 50
...– SWOT Analysis 19 Appendix 10 – New Strategies 20 Appendix 11 – Commonly Required Skills and Resources 21 Introduction Udacity is a massive open online course (MOOC) provider based in Silicon Valley, offering career-focused education. They are partnered with tech-giants Google and Facebook and their mission is to “bring accessible, affordable, engaging, and highly effective higher education to the world” (Udacity, 2015). The External Environment Udacity’s macro environment (appendix 1) shows increasing numbers of mature and part-time learners are looking for alternatives to traditional education (Morris, 2013). They require cheap and flexible classes (Butcher and Rose-Adams, 2015) to fit in around their busy schedules. On top of this, student debt is rising and more students are needing to work part-time so they can afford to live. The globalisation of learning has seen students become more technology-minded. Employers are...
Words: 3652 - Pages: 15
...experiences * Adults are goal oriented * Adults are relevancy oriented * Adults are practical * Adult learner like to be respected With these principles in mind, one can see that adult learners require a different approach when it comes to learning. When adults return to school, it is usually because they are looking to advance their career, learn a new skill or just to learn something new. With jobs getting harder and harder to find, many look to new careers for better opportunities in the job market (Flowers 2012). An article written by Amanda Flowers of Bowling Green State University found that in 2010 around 8 percent of the students enrolled were “non-traditional” students. And according to Barbara Henry Ph.D., an assistant vice-president at the school, the reasons she believes the increase in the non-traditional learner is due...
Words: 1145 - Pages: 5
...referring to high school and the dissonance one experiences when exposed to values and practices incongruous with what they’ve learned outside the classroom, the statement can be applied to any type of school and to any type of student. Fresh-faced kindergarteners may find themselves unprepared for a new world in which they must share, take turns with other students and follow a schedule different than that to which they’re accustomed. A new high school student may find it difficult to juggle the demands of several different classes after years spent with the same group of students in a single classroom with the same teacher all day. College students must learn to balance new freedoms and responsibilities while attending school, and will undoubtedly be confronted with experiences and situations that will challenge the values they’ve learned from their families. While any student will likely find school to be a disorienting place, the unique set of challenges and obstacles encountered by adult students are perhaps the most discombobulating. About 30% of adult students entering colleges in the United States are first-generation students: those who are the first in their families to pursue higher education (Ramsey, 2010). “First-generation students face many challenges once enrolled in college as well. Many, for instance, feel out of place in the academic environment. They may lack study and time-management skills, have trouble understanding what faculty expect from them, and underestimate...
Words: 1257 - Pages: 6
...my future classroom is to challenge students and watch them grow to their full potential. I want to take students at different levels and see them develop together for the betterment of each individual. Therefore, group work is the key to having a successful class and is something I value, especially with older students. The impact of group work, when students help fellow students, changes each person and transforms the atmosphere of the class as a whole. In my classroom, I want students to have freedom that allows for expression and creativity. Students should be able to experiment with likes and dislikes and to realize their strengths and weaknesses. After this base is developed, the curriculum can be molded to tie in each student’s learning style. I want to teach students in a way that has some straightforward instruction, but that also gives students room to grow and expand on their own. At the beginning of the year, it is understandable for the teacher to lead class discussions, but towards the end of the year, students will pose their own questions and try to answer them independently. I feel it is beneficial for students to sometimes work for the answer rather than being told because it stretches their knowledge and teaches them how to find information in a variety of ways. I also feel a key to success is for the class to work on projects to help others. As an educator, it is important not only to help the students that you are teaching, but...
Words: 2184 - Pages: 9
...population of students. With the influx of newly developed online education programs from inside and outside the industry, the market flood has left many institutions scrambling to jump aboard in fear of being left behind. The institutions that will succeed must develop sufficient marketing strategies to differentiate through brand naming and market niches. Proper research and development with careful consideration to the network infrastructure and cost feasibility of programs is necessary. While the opportunities and potential payoffs of online education are endless, they may come at a heavy price for some unprepared institutions venturing into the market if they do not meet the challenges of cost feasibility, technology, market retention, and quality control. Distance-learning programs should be used to compliment and enhance the educational experience rather than damage it or lessen its credibility and benefits. The Internet age has significantly reshaped the higher education industry technological advancements in the distance-learning methodology. Increasing competition in programs throughout colleges and universities and a booming demand from a growing student population has led to the broad expansion of distance learning technologies in today's educational infrastructures. By 2004 the online higher education market is expected to grow to $7 billion from $1.2 billion in 1999. Furthermore, it is estimated that in the coming year 2.2 million students are expected to...
Words: 6015 - Pages: 25
